Read full description of the books:

So I got the first one from the library and towards the end of the first book I knew this was something interesting. But it wasn’t until the second book (at the end of the second book no less) when I knew I had something fascinating in my hands. The moment that really got me was when the horse Gahltha pledges his loyalty to Elspeth and promises to help her and never leave her side (there’s a reason why of course) but I was so moved by this previously-arrogant horse and his devotion, that my heart melted right then and there. And then when I got to the third book, I was desperate to finish it and see what happens that one night I stayed up to finish Ashling without so much as speaking to my husband one night. And now I wait for the fourth book to come from the library. And to be honest, after finishing Ashling, I was left in a bit of a reading funk: I didn’t know what to read next. In a matter of a week, I picked up four books and didn’t finish any of them (although one I know I will return to shortly). I guess I went through some withdrawal and I hadn’t felt that since last year in the summer. So that wasn’t so much of a review as me wanting to gush about this series. Loving it! Oh, and to think this whole series was started when the author was still in high school??? The author has got quite the imagination and even though it takes place on Earth, it might as well be Middle-Earth or something else like it. It’s so wonderful to read the world she has created here. And the people as well…if you can, read them. Definitely do not give up on the first book: the books get so much more interesting and intricate, that you’ll be itching for the next book in the series, like I am.

Read information about the author

Isobelle Carmody began the first novel of her highly acclaimed Obernewtyn Chronicles while she was still in high school. The series has established her at the forefront of fantasy writing in Australia.

In addition to her young-adult novels, such as the Obernewtyn Chronicles and Alyzon Whitestarr, Isobelle's published works include several middle-grade fantasies. Her still-unfinished Gateway Trilogy has been favorably compared to The Wizard of Oz and the Chronicles of Narnia. The Little Fur quartet is an eco-fantasy starring a half-elf, half-troll heroine and is fully illustrated by the author herself.

Isobelle's most recent picture book, Magic Night, is a collaboration with illustrator Declan Lee. Originally published in Australia as The Wrong Thing, the book features an ordinary housecat who stumbles upon something otherworldly. Across all her writing, Isobelle shows a talent for balancing the mundane and the fantastic.

Isobelle was the guest of honor at the 2007 Australian National Science Fiction Convention. She has received numerous honors for her writing, including multiple Aurealis Awards and Children's Book Council of Australia Awards.

She currently divides her time between her home on the Great Ocean Road in Australia and her travels abroad with her partner and daughter.

Librarian's note: Penguin Australia is publishing the Obernewtyn Chronicles in six books, and The Stone Key is book five. In the United States and Canada this series is published by Random House in eight books; this Penguin Australia book is split into two parts and published as Wavesong (Book Five) and The Stone Key (Book Six).